Jackson is Back

If it wasn't for the superb veterinary skills and technology available at Veterinary Specialist Group (VSG^®) Jackson, a much loved Jack Russell terrier, could be just a memory for the Taylor family from Manukau.

Chris and Bev Taylor and daughter Claire have two dogs - Jackson and a Kelpie called Spot. Both are exuberant, enthusiastic dogs who like nothing better than nipping about, poking their noses into everything that moves.

Shortly after Christmas, while the Taylors were shifting into a new home, they received a call from the family who were caring for both dogs. Chris says his brother-in-law had let both dogs out for a run and noticed that while Jackson was happily running around with Spot he was coughing very badly as if he had something stuck in his throat.
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Rupert's back working at Letham Gallery

To the uninitiated Rupert is a run of the mill 13 year old black Labrador who lives with owner Anna Woodroffe, of Letham Gallery in Ponsonby, Auckland but Anna says there is more to Rupert than meets the eye.

"He is in fact the resident meeter, greeter and guard dog at the gallery. In addition he acts as an unpaid assistant to the psychologist who has a waiting room at the gallery by both soothing patients with a wag of his tail and accompanying them to their chairs. He encourages patients to pat him and relax before seeing the psychologist and, apparently offers a listening ear for the psychologist himself who occasionally needs someone reliable and discreet to talk to."
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Disk Surgery for Hamish's Back

Hamish is a six year old Airedale terrier who has always taken a laid-back approach to life's adventures, including his 13,000 mile relocation from Scotland and this was just fine with owners Dr's Bruce Russell and Ailsa McGregor from West Harbour in Auckland. Ailsa describes Hamish as "not the speediest dog in the world but always very lovable, sweet-natured and keen for a walk."

She says last year Hamish was getting even slower than normal. He couldn't jump into the car anymore and he had a problem getting up stairs - in fact moving about sometimes became a real challenge for him.

"Hamish was still perky but getting about was an effort. Then one morning in August, when I lifted him into the car, he howled in pain - and he also started to whimper occasionally when there didn't seem to be any reason for his discomfort so we decided it was time to consult the professionals."
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Rocky - Hard as Rock

It was November 2004 when Rocky acquired the Mundays as his family. Cindy and Kevin found this young Huntaway X, with a big personality, curled up in one of their sheds. No one claimed him and since Kevin is a stonemason Rocky got a new name and a new home which he shares with Cindy's son Jonathan and Kevin's daughter, Karla.

It is a busy household situated on 3.5 acres between Bombay and Pokeno. Along with Kevin's stonemason and landscaping business there is a cafe and minigolf course on the property. The Mundays also have a cat, Pebbles, three greyhounds, some chickens and a couple of steers.

Every morning as Kevin set out for work down the long driveway Rocky would accompany him, running in front of the truck. One morning in May 2005, Rocky suddenly turned around and ran under the front wheel of the truck. Kevin heard him yelp and carried him down to Cindy. They rushed him to their local vet (Pukekohe Veterinary Clinic), ringing on the way to make sure someone was available to see him.
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Few clues in Emma's History

It was 2 years ago that Emma became ill and had everybody stumped as to what was wrong with her. Now, due to the dedication of her owners Kathy and Gary Christopher, her vets at Howick Veterinary Clinic and the medical team at VSG^® Emma has overcome a range of challenges.

Emma is a 12 year old miniature poodle who rules the roost in the Christopher family. She lives with Kathy, Gary, two cats and a new kitten. Kathy says "Emma is wilful and very vocal, just ask the team at Howick Vets!"

It was June 2004 when Kathy and Gary noticed that Emma was not herself. She was having trouble getting up onto the bed for her usual snuggle and Kathy assumed old age was starting to creep up on the plucky poodle. Her mobility further deteriorated and soon she couldn't get up on her favourite spot on the couch.
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Tai

Tai, the dog presented in this newsletter, was a challenging splenectomy case. On entering the abdomen it was apparent that there was an emphysematous splenic torsion that had ruptured prior to surgery. The abdomen was full of fetid, dark fluid limiting visualization of the abdominal contents. Suction of approximately 4 litres of this fluid was required prior to evaluating the remainder of the abdomen. The splenic vessels were tightly torsed and thrombosis of the splenic vein and artery was evident. The splenic pedicle was ligated with large gauge monofilament absorbable suture material (PDS) without untwisting the torsion.
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Queen-B

Queen came to us having broken all four toes in her right hind foot. She had been working hard, heading sheep, and caught her foot in a fence. She was her boss' best dog and for her to be able to keep working, that foot was going to have to be fixed! When she arrived, she had a large open wound over the area which had to be managed first.

For us to be able to fix the bones, the site had to be free from infection. This involved bandage changes and lots of them! Next, Specialist Small Animal Surgeons Dr Richard Jerram & Dr Alex Walker made bone grafts by taking a piece of Queen's rib and plating it in the foot. They also performed a skin graft by taking skin from over the chest and carefully preparing it before suturing it to the open wound site. This meant that the wound would heal and be strong again. Queen spent 3 months in the hospital having bandage changes, physiotherapy and good ol' rest and recuperation.

She is now back on the farm, working as well as before and has even had a litter of puppies. Her boss is very pleased!

Carlos The Monkey

Carlos, is an 8 month old, male, capuchin monkey who won his way into our hearts in record time. This little guy had neurological signs since birth - falling over, having trouble walking, pulling at his face, and his behaviour was placid with low activity - this alone is abnormal - these guys usually have ants in their pants! As he got older, these signs got worse and he began to seizure more and more frequently. He came to Veterinary Specialist Group and saw Dr Richard Jerram.

We checked his bloods, and did an abdominal ultrasound to assess the function of his liver in case toxin build up was the cause of his seizuring. He had chest x-rays and we also did an MRI on his brain to check for a brain tumour. All of this checked out okay - everything was normal.

His signs were due to idiopathic origin (i.e. cause unknown). Dr Jerram talked to a human medical paediatrician since humans are also primates. This way, we received up-to-date information that we might also be able to treat Carlos successfully using similar treatment. We adhered to this advice and Carlos improved, showing less face pulling behaviour, improved walking and less seizuring activity.

Ben - Back on the hunt

Ben is a nine year old, large, black, exuberant Labrador who is full of energy and literally jumping out of his skin to get out and about having fun and pursue his favourite pastime of stealing food whenever and wherever. The good life he has now is very much due to the expert care and attention he received for a life threatening tumour on his jaw from the team at VSG^®. Bens' owners, Charles and Dianne Woolley live on a two acre rural property on the edge of Takanini in South Auckland and, along with Ben, they have a veritable menagerie of animals to care for. Charles says he has had Labradors all his life and loved them all but Ben is one out of the box, so full of energy and fun, but that all changed towards the end of last year..
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Charlie back living the life of Riley

Phillipa Gordon loves cats and says her two, Charlie a Siamese and Sophie a Burmese, are treated as her children. She says both cats are an important part of her life and, until recently, they had been a healthy pair, full of fun and mischief. Last Christmas Charlie (13) developed a dry cough which Phillipa thought could be due to fur balls as he is a perpetual cleaner. She started brushing him more often to remove the excess fur but this didn't seem to help. A few weeks later she took both cats to her local vet John Mead at Herne Bay Veterinary Clinic for their annual health check-up.
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Flynn's back racing around after pelvic fracture

Sue Murray from Kati Kati says she recently had one of those horror moments when she accidentally drove over and seriously injured one of the family's four dogs. "We live out in the country so the dogs have a large area to runaround in and they usually stay well clear of our vehicle. They are quite used to us coming and going but on this day Flynn, our beautiful gold and white Border Collie, got too close and I drove over him. When I heard his scream I knew something awful had happened."
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Special Care for Gypsy

Receiving a check-up call on Christmas Day from your vet is definitely not the norm. But Mark Robson from the Veterinary Specialist Group (VSG^®) based at Unitec in Auckland, took time out from his own celebrations to check on the progress of a small black cat called Gypsy and, according to owner Suzi Collard from Epsom, that call sums up the VSG^® attitude. According to the old adage most cats have nine lives but Suzi says her small, black furry friend Gypsy has used up all of these recently, and if it had not been for the superlative treatment and care she received from both Greenlane Vets and VSG^®, Gypsy would almost certainly be dead.
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Zoo Patients Add Variety to VSG^® Caseload

Auckland Zoo has had a long and very beneficial relationship with the Veterinary Specialist Group vets - dating back to the early 1990's when our elephant Kashin developed an infection in one of the toe bones of her right front foot. An expert elephant trainer was imported from Australia to help train her to lie on a purpose-made 'jumbo-sized' mattress (to prevent pressure damage to muscles and nerves during prolonged anaesthesia). An experienced elephant anaesthetist came over from San Diego to lead a team of human and veterinary anaesthetists and technicians. Dr. Alex Walker of VSG^® led the surgical and nursing team in successfully removing the infected pieces of bone in what was only the second time such an operation had been performed anywhere in the world.
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Spring Cleaning Nightmare for Stimpy by Jane Finlayson (newsletter # 7)

Stimpy is a 14 year old, male tabby cat who was a gift to Shona from her children. He’s always been an overtly affectionate cat who provides lots of laughs for Shona and her family. Stimpy shares his home with the feline matriarch Miffy in Remuera, Auckland. Late last year Shona got a distressing call from her 18 year old daughter to say that Stimpy was convulsing and in extreme pain. Shona met them at Remuera Veterinary Medical Centre where their vet Stephanie Shaw administered supportive therapy. “When Stimpy arrived at the clinic he was seizuring and in respiratory distress. I wondered at the time if this was to be my first case of slug bait poisoning in a cat. On physical examination, I found Stimpy’s mouth to be ulcerated and swollen, which ruled out slug bait poison, but indicated some other form of toxic insult” says Stephanie. Stimpy was given medications to stabilize his condition as Stephanie and Shona tried to ascertain the possible scenarios that lead to Stimpy’s distress. Stimpy was transferred to the after hours vets for overnight care, his life was in the balance. Stimpy did survive the night however his condition had not improved. He had not had any seizures and his vital signs were fairly normal, therefore it was unlikely that slug bait poisoning had occurred.
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No More Hopping For these Hip Dogs by Jane Finlayson (newsletter # 7)

The Emery family of Albany love taking regular trips to their beach house at Ngunguru and whenever they go their two Newfoundlands Bertie and Murphy come too. Gill, Keith and their three children enjoy taking the dogs for walks on the beach but late last year they became concerned about Murphy. Murphy has always been a boisterous pup yet by the time he was 6 months old he was showing signs of lameness in the hips. Daniel Lamont, his vet at Albany Veterinary Centre was becoming increasingly concerned. “Murphy had been lame from an early age and it was progressively getting worse. I did some x-rays that showed very poor hip conformation on both sides. It was either surgery or long term pain relief.” Daniel spoke with the Emerys and explained that a total hip replacement by specialist surgeons would be the best option for Murphy given his age and size. The Emerys agreed “Murphy is such a young dog and very special so we really only considered what was best for him and we haven’t been disappointed.”
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Snapshots of Success (newsletter # 8)

Samantha
Samantha presented in October 2003 for evaluation of a mineralized left-sided facial mass. A CT scan showed a tumour originating at the caudal mandible. There was no evidence of metastatic disease and surgical resection was recommended. A left caudal mandibulectomy was performed removing the caudal mandible, the temporomandibular joint, and the zygomatic arch. Samantha has been successfully treated with immunotherapy and a small regrowth of the tumour (osteosarcoma) was removed in April 2005. No further regrowth of the tumour has been detected.

Robert Palmer
When you take on a pet they become part of your family so you have to look after them. Sam is a great dog so when she got sick we looked at all the options and decided to do the best we could for her and that was taking her to VSG^®. After such serious surgery to remove her tumour we were amazed how she well recovered. The VSG^® staff were all excellent and we’d definitely recommend them to other pet owners.
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